Tarot Cards

To begin reading tarot cards you first have to tap into your intuition. Tarot cards can display insight about a situation and help you to solve problems. It's very important to choose your tarot deck carefully. Pay attention to your intuition and feelings as you browse through some tarot decks.

Tarot card decks for sale can be found at many psychic shops in your area. When looking at tarot decks, look at each picture and get a strong sense of how you feel. Try to find a deck that you feel strongly about. Next you want to take time to understand the meaning of each tarot card. Don't rush this. Take the proper time to at least get comfortable with the tarot pictures. Eventually you will want to memorize the meaning of each card, as doing tarot spreads will become a lot easier for you.

Don't try anything complicated at first. Remember you are just learning to read tarot cards. Initially just try a tarot spread of three cards. A three card spread will show you information about the past, present and future that revolves around the question you are concentrating on.

Reading tarot cards is much more complex than anything that could be explained in one article. It's not enough to simply know tarot card definitions or being good at interpreting tarot cards. There are many techniques to master to truly become a master at reading tarot cards.

Are you new to learning tarot card definitions? Tarot reading can help you gain a better understanding of issues relating to your life and your soul. Every card in a tarot deck has a specific meaning, which is how we go about interpreting tarot cards to develop a reading and offer insight.

There are 78 cards in a tarot deck. The cards are divided into two parts. These are called "major arcana" and "minor arcana". It can be difficult at first to gain tarot carts major and minor understanding. The minor arcana contains 56 cards and the major arcana contains 22 cards. And furthermore, the minor arcana is divided into 4 categories. These are earth, water, fire and air and each contain 14 cards. Generally you can gleam the meaning of of each tarot card by looking at it's picture.

Every card also has a number which is also important to understand. The minor arcana (which has earth, water, fire and air categories) are each numbered 1 to 10 and then also contain a knight, queen, king and page. So this total 14 for each of the minor categories. Then the 22 cards in the major arcana are numbered 0 to 21.

The major arcana cards are considered to hold more importance than the minor arcana cards. When you do a reading, the position is just as important as the meaning of each tarot card. The major arcana cards are often more closely related with the inquirer. They represent major influences, while minor arcana cards relate more to the situations in the life of the inquirer.

So not only do you need to understand the meaning of each tarot card, but how to read tarot spreads as well. Interpreting tarot cards can be challenging but with practice, you will definitely improve to the point where you can perform tarot readings for others.

The tarot deck is split into two categories: major arcana and minor arcana. Arcana is latin for "life secrets". Then the minor arcana is further split into 4 categories representing the elements. These elements are fire, air, earth and water. For centuries it's been believed that life cannot exist without these 4 elements. Consider that without air we could not breathe, without fire we would have no sun, without water we couldn't survive and without earth we wouldn't exist.

The minor arcana 4 categories are also known as suits wands, cups, swords and coins (or pentacles). Wands relates to your career and intellectual activities. Cups is all about emotions, love, and pleasure. Swords relates to struggles, difficulties and illness. Coins (Earth) deals with the material world, finances and property.

To understand the meaning of each tarot card, first take some time to study the illustrations. Take note that a card could have an opposing meaning if it shows up in a spread upside down. While you can learn the standard meaning of each card, they are not written in stone. You should instead develop your intuition and get your own feeling for what each card means. After you understand the basic card meanings this will become easier.

The cards in the major arcana represent major forces and phases of life. Cards such as Lovers, Death and the World are included. The deck begins with "The Fool" and ends with "The World". Major arcana cards are the most powerful ones in the tarot deck.

Each of the cards in the 4 minor arcana categories range from Ace to King and include 4 additional count cards.

These 4 count cards represent lesser events in our every day lives. Each suit (wands, cups, swords, coins) represents a different area of life, and each card (Ace to King or count card) lends to interpreting tarot cards.

The suit of swords can relate to suffering or intellectual changes. The swords are cards of action and conflict.

The suit of cups relate to changes on an emotional level or in relationships. They relate to how you perceive the world. They are the bridge between idea and action. Cups can also be thought of as relating to desire, inner experience and spirit.

Wands relates to changes in work and creativity. They are about ideas and growth and are considered the first suit of the minor arcana.

The suit of coins represent money, material goods and career advancement. Pentacles are about results and fruition, the actual manifestation of ideas.

So you have your tarot deck and by now have studied what each of the cards mean. Now it's time to learn about tarot spreads. A spread is a selection of tarot cards that the tarot reader will use to interpret from. Typically the deck is shuffled by someone other than the reader and is then laid out in a chosen spread. Each card has a number that dictates which card is to be turned over first. When the cards are being shuffled the reader should be concentrating on the person's question. The person being read to is often reffered to as the querent. Actually developing techniques for shuffling is another article completely. Such as who shuffles, shuffling technique, how the cards are cut etc. are many things you will learn and develop along the way.

While a spread can be random, there are specific spreads to learn as well. Common spreads are Celtic Cross, Horse-shoe, 3-card spread, astrological spread and tetractys. Cards can be laid out one at a time face down or face up.

Tarot reading celtic cross interpretations are common. Five cards are arranged in a cross while four are put vertically beside the cross. The final card is placed across the center card of the cross, horizontally. This card often represents an obstacle the inquirer must face. The center card of the cross is often the most significant.

The horse shoe spread consists of 7 cards. They are laid out in the shape of a "V" or semi circle. They represent the past, present, influences, obstacles, expectations, best course of action and possible outcomes.

The 3 card spread is simpler to understand. Three cards are laid out to represent the past, present and future. A variation on the 3 card spread is the European 9 card spread. Instead of 1 card representing the past, present and future, there are 3 cards in 3 groups.

The astrological spread shows 12 cards in a circle (like the 12 signs of the zodiac). A final card is put in the middle of the circle.

The tetractys spread is laid out in a pyramid with 4 cards on the bottom, 3 on the next row above it, 2 on the next row and 1 at the top. Each row represents one of the elements.